Landscape restoration Tain II Forest Reserve

In and around the Tain II Forest Reserve, logging, unsustainable farming, cattle herding, and poaching have developed without much hindrance. This has created a highly degraded landscape where soils, biodiversity, forests and livelihoods of people still continue to degrade, a process intensified by fires. In a 4-year project we work towards the restoration of the degraded landscape to its former production function. The overall goal is integral management of a landscape with all stakeholders in order to improve livelihoods, productivity and the protection of biodiversity. This is achieved through improved agricultural and forestry practices. Also, remnants of the original vegetation will be protected and connected through planting, so they can become refuges for biodiversity.

Maas Goote, CEO of DOB Ecology: “DOB Ecology is excited to support Form with this restoration programme in the Tain Forest Reserve. First, the expertise and track record of Form are really outstanding. But more importantly, we have experienced that the urge to conserve biodiversity and respect for nature are deeply embedded in the DNA of the people working in Form. We are impressed by how Form successfully combines entrepreneurship and forest management, with sustainability and ecology – including tangible improvement of livelihoods of the local communities.”

OUR ROLE

The project is implemented by Form International and Form Ghana. Form Ghana is also active in the same region in the restoration of the Tain II Forest Reserve. Our role is to collect information at landscape level (mapping, zoning, GIS) and start dialoguing with all stakeholders to provide a solid basis for landscape governance. Improved landscape governance will lead to the restoration of the landscape, providing benefits such as a reduced fire risk, more efficient production and enhanced biodiversity conservation. Restoration through planting is one of the core activities: the threatened Eastern Guinean lowland forest along the Tain River will be restored, providing an ecological corridor. Community controlled land within the forest reserve will be restored and off-reserve smallholder farmers will receive support to develop sustainable and climate-smart agriculture, woodlots and perennial crops.